What’s next for the £5 billion scheme to transform Liverpool?

Described as “an ambitious 30-year vision to completely transform the city’s northern docks”, the Liverpool Waters plans were approved more than a decade ago.

The £5bn scheme is being delivered by property giants Peel and stretches 2.3km along the banks of the River Mersey. The entire ground stretches from Princes Dock to Bramley-Moore Dock, where Everton FC’s new stadium is nearing completion.

It aims to regenerate the post-industrial landscape of Liverpool’s Northern Docklands through a range of residential, commercial and cultural developments and was granted planning permission in 2013. In the years since, some progress has been made, including a number of office and residential developments that have sprung up around Princes Dock.

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On Tuesday (May 28), the ECHO reported that at least one waterside hotel could be built as part of Liverpool Waters. This comes as Peel has refined its masterplan for the project following a consultation on the project.

As Everton’s new stadium nears completion and in response to the effect an increase in home working is having on city centres, the Liverpool Waters plan will be amended in line with the results of the consultation – with a full announcement expected next month .

Here, we look at what’s happened to Liverpool Waters so far and what’s next.

What has already happened?

The Liverpool Waters project is divided into five neighborhoods – Central Docks, Clarence Docks, King Edward Triangle, Princes Dock and Northern Docks.

More than 200 new homes have been built in Central Docks since the scheme began, but most of the completed work has been seen in Princes Dock, which is the first phase of Liverpool Waters. A number of apartment and office buildings have been built around Princes Dock over the past decade.

In the Northern Docks, Everton FC’s new stadium dominated. The pitch was made in 2021 and the stadium is ready for the start of the 2025/26 football season.

Everton had not chosen Bramley-Moore as the location for their new £750m home when plans for Liverpool Waters were originally launched, but the scheme includes ancillary plans to develop the area around the ground.

In general, the idea of ​​development in Liverpool Docks has been opposed by a number of heritage organisations. English Heritage opposed the plans and the Liverpool Waters scheme was cited as a factor behind the controversial decision to revoke Liverpool’s World Heritage status in 2021.

In response to the decision, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “A deeply disappointing recommendation from UNESCO. We are proud of our history, but our heritage is a vital part of our regeneration.

“I would urge them to accept our invitation to visit rather than make their decision over a table on the other side of the world.”

What’s next?

The next stage for Liverpool Waters would be the opening of the Isle of Man ferry terminal. Work on the terminal at Princes Half Tide Dock began in 2019, with an initial planned completion date of August 2021.

However, it has been plagued by a number of delays since then, and costs have risen significantly. The new terminal is expected to open sometime this year.

The central part of the docks will host a number of developments in the future, including a park. In March last year Liverpool City Council approved plans for what is being called ‘Central Park’ – a 4.7 acre green space just south of Collingwood Dock. Central Docks will also include new residential and commercial developments – as well as a new cultural building.

In Clarence Docks, Peel wants to build a mix of residential developments including houses and apartments. It wants to develop community space, retail spaces and workspaces to co-exist with the Ten Streets area.

Another significant project that is part of Liverpool Waters is a cluster of skyscrapers in an industrial area near the city centre.

In March, Liverpool City Council’s cabinet agreed to a £1.5m deal which would see residential skyscrapers built on the King Edward Triangle site. Peel has sold the seafront site to KEIE Limited in a move that will see a high-rise residential scheme comprising 1,200 apartments built on the property.

KEIE Limited is part of the TJ Morris Group, which owns Home Bargains. KEIE is working with Hugh Frost, whose organization Beetham built Liverpool’s 40-storey West Tower.

Next month, Peel will present the revised masterplan for Liverpool Waters to the city council. With Everton’s stadium nearing completion and the impact of home working on city centers in the years since Peel published its first masterplan, the company has carried out a consultation to refine the plan.

Feedback led to requests for the masterplan to include more public green spaces and further preservation of the unique elements of the docks; by creating more open spaces at the dock. People who responded also called for a more diverse and affordable housing supply – and for community, connectivity and accessibility to be at the heart of the new masterplan.

Included in the revised plan is the possibility of more hotels being built on the waterfront. Peel plans to have one built next to the Liverpool cruise terminal and is currently looking for a hotel operator to develop the site.

The revised plan also includes the new Everton stadium, which was not part of the previous masterplan. The new plans will include new additional visitor spaces as well as the design of the surrounding area to complement the Blues’ new home, which is due to open for the start of the 2025/26 football season. The Northern Docks part of the scheme will include a predominant residential area at Nelson Docks.

Looking ahead, Chris Capes, Development Director for Liverpool Waters, said: “Liverpool Waters now has greater certainty about the new cruise terminal and we are actively looking at all the fantastic development opportunities it presents at prime locations in the Princes Dock Quarter. We are soon to go on the market looking for a hotel operator to develop the site opposite the proposed cruise terminal site. We are also in discussions with leisure operators to develop complementary activities alongside what we already have with sauna and open water swimming.

“We are very excited to bring forward the site of the current temporary cruise terminal. This is the most prominent land in Liverpool Waters, so it is essential that we work with an operator who will deliver a high quality development for the benefit of Liverpool Waters and the wider city. The step that the cruise terminal brings will be a huge benefit to the development of this parcel.

“Our master planning supports the opportunity for at least one waterfront hotel to accommodate the growing number of tourists expected to visit the city in the coming years.”

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